-Comidas caseras, food that has that taste of home -- comforting, favorites, traditional.

In Jalisco, I traveled deep into the countryside where those dishes are being kept alive by a prominent food researcher...

This tamal is already killing me.

...and visit an hacienda where they are being passed down through the generations of a single family.

-The family cookbook.

-It's such a treasure!

And home-style food is what I share with you in my kitchen...

This dish that I'm going to show you how to make right now, you'll only find it in a Mexican home or in your home.

...when I make these flavor-packed Jalisco-style chicken tamales and an irresistible cheesy chile relleno rice with salsa roja.

This, to me, is -- ah!

-- a thing of beauty!

Two can't-miss dishes in my home and yours.

-♪ Dame, dame ♪ ♪ Dame tu chocolate ♪ ♪ Dame, dame ♪ ♪ Dame café caliente ♪ ♪ Dame, dame ♪ ♪ Dame tu corazón ♪ ♪♪ -"Pati's Mexican Table" is made possible by... ♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ Avocados from Mexico Over 40 years, bringing authentic Latin American flavors to your table.

Tropical Cheese.

-Stand Together -- helping every person rise.

More information at StandTogether.org.

-Here, the typical arroz con pollo...or not.

Unfollow la receta.

Mahatma rice.

-King Arthur Baking Company.

Find out more about our masa harina at kingarthurbaking.com.

-Oléico -- High Oleic Safflower Oil.

-Tecate Alta Cerveza Suprema.

Mexico is in us.

-FEMSA Foundation.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Both laugh ] -Ah, sí.

-Ooh.

[ Crunches ] Mmm.

Mm-hmm!

He found a customer.

[ Laughs ] -No.

-Mm.

Marcos, the bread vendor... -See you.

-...didn't know what treasure lived on this quiet road out in the country in Jalisco.

-Okay.

-But I did.

Maru Toledo.

Hi.

Maru is a food researcher and chronicler of traditional food ways.

She's also a phenomenal cook.

Maru wants to save and promote the food of Jalisco, and her research is often a collaboration with archaeologists.

She's put in years of work to dig up oral histories of food from the region and has created a collective called Mujeres del Maiz so that other women can continue making these recipes.

It's a women's collective ¿verdad?

called Mujeres del Maiz.

Maru is going to walk me through a few recipes that I probably couldn't find anywhere else.

What are we exploring today?

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

Atole is corn masa, thickened, drained.

-Sí.

Exactamente.

Claro.

-Uh-huh.

Oh, it feels really nice.

Okay.

Oh.

Pinole is corn that's toasted, and then you grind it until really, really, really, really fine.

So think about, like, a confectioners' sugar that's based on toasted, ground corn.

Mmm.

-Mm.

-I'm just thinking how good this is, Maru.

It's like a hot chocolate but thickened with a deliciously textured corn base.

-Sí.

-So if you live here, you don't need to go shopping.

Just every time you hear a motorcycle, you just come down and get bread, get cheese.

Oh, just bread and cheese and tortilla.

I mean, I can live off of those.

Okay, panela.

This delivery was perfect timing for Maru's next recipe -- cheese-stuffed Swiss chard tamales.

Swiss chard tamales I've never tried.

-Sí.

-I love new things, Maru.

I love new things.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Ooh...that's gonna be my kind of masa.

-Sí.

-Ah.

This tamal is already killing me!

[ Speaks Spanish ] ♪♪ Uh-huh.

Okay, so this is the famous chile Yahualica that you say defines Jalisco.

You charred it.

Ah!

Mm-hmm.

♪♪ -[ Laughs ] -Mm.

Mm-hmm.

-Mm.

-I can make like 22.

-[ Laughs ] -Oh!

Beautiful!

-[ Laughs, speaks Spanish ] -I am so sorry you're missing out.

Perfection.

This is, like, comfort Mexican food at its best.

I've never tried a tamal like this.

I don't think anybody could try a tamal like this if it weren't for your work and research, so... hopefully you'll teach it to many more people, and rebuild these chains of recipes to be treasured.

Jalisco has many different tamales, of course, not just one, but their traditional chicken tamales stole my heart.

I have my sauté pan at medium heat, and I'm gonna add 2 to 3 tablespoons of safflower oil.

1/2 cup of onion.

Two garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped.

I have a pound of ripe Roma tomatoes that I put under the broiler for 8 to 10 minute, and then they got roasted and charred and so mushy.

After spending some time in Jalisco, it was really great to be able to explore the entire state, which is where me and my team visited with Maru.

I learned so much from her research, her wealth of information.

Like, I already knew Jalisco had so much to offer in terms of food, and I love it when I get to a place where you not only learn so much, but you want to come back for more.

Oh, look at all the juices and the charred skin.

You want all that flavor.

I'm going to add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin.

Four whole cloves.

I'm removing the stem, 'cause the stem is too hard, and I'm crumbling that top right in here.

1/2 teaspoon salt... and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

And then once this has come together, I'm going to add 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped Manzanilla olives stuffed with pimentos.

1/3 cup capers.

I'm gonna chop them a little bit.

Three poblano chilies.

You roast them, peel them, and then you end up with the strips of the roasted poblano peppers.

And I'm going to add pickled jalapeños, 1/4 cup.

I'm gonna add a little bit of the brine, too.

And now the last thing is chicken.

I have 3 cups of chicken that I already cooked, and as you can see, we didn't let the mixture get too wet or juicy, because then it's gonna make your tamales be very runny and not cook evenly or not even cook at all.

So we're just gonna cook this for a minute, until all of the flavors come together.

Now I'm gonna make my masa.

My chicken filling is cooling, so I'm going to take 3 cups of masa harina, add in here 2 teaspoons of baking powder, because we want that masa to fluff.

A teaspoon salt.

And now I'm gonna add 1 cup of vegetable shortening.

Now, you could add lard.

Some people add butter.

You could add oil.

Vegetable shortening gives it a really nice texture.

Little by little, I'm gonna start adding 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth.

So you can see it start getting together into clumps.

After you add enough liquid, you start smelling, like, fresh masa, and then your home will be smelling like a tortilleria, which is a great smell to have.

So I'm just gonna raise the speed.

You want the masa to have a lot of air inside so that it will be really fluffy and puffy as the tamales cook, and then we're gonna do the ultimate test to see if the masa is ready.

You're looking for, like, a medium-dense cake batter.

Grab a cup of water, add a couple of cubes of ice so the water will be really cold.

Grab 1/2 teaspoon of the masa.

Drop into the water.

And if it floats, it means your masa is ready.

It's perfect.

Just use the steamer basket.

You want to add enough water so that the water is right under the steaming rack or basket, which is what we have here.

And you want to have it over medium-low heat.

I have these corn husks soaking in water.

When I fill them and roll them, they're not gonna break.

And you need something to assemble your tamales as you build them, something where the tamales can stand up.

Grab a corn husk, and you're going to have the tapered end looking at you.

And then you're gonna add about 1/4 cup of the masa.

Spread the masa.

I always like to make an indentation around the middle where I'm gonna put the filling.

And you can see how the masa starts to swaddle the filing, and then the masa sticks.

Once your corn husk touches in the middle, you fold and go around the tamal.

You're supposed to leave like an inch to an inch and a half empty in the bottom, and then you just fold, press the masa up so that it spreads evenly.

If you get really thin corn husks like this, which can be frustrating, 'cause you can't make a tamal like this, you would just grab two or even three, like a fan, and then you can create the width that you need for your tamal.

♪♪ Gonna make a bed with some of the corn husks for those tamales to lay on, then I'm adding the tamales.

And you want the tamales standing up.

If you don't have a super-full pot, then you can add a little bit of the husks on top.

Set your heat on medium to medium-low and then just give them an hour.

Here in Jalisco, the land of tequila, the agave fields stretch as far as the eye can see.

In their midst are the haciendas, which were central to the cultivation of agave.

These walls hold part of the history and traditions which have shaped the culture of Jalisco.

I've been invited to visit Hacienda Romo, the only working hacienda left in the state, and home to many generations of the Romo family... Hola!

...including the two Guillermos who greet me.

-This house was built around 1870.

The difference between a ranch or an hacienda, if you don't have a chapel and the main house, you don't have an hacienda.

-And you have one right here.

Haciendas were like mini-villages, housing workers, a store for food and supplies, and, of course, a church, everything they needed all located on the property.

-This was built on the civilian style.

In the middle, you had the garden.

This system was devised to make the house cool.

-And everything I'm looking at, it's so pretty.

There are interesting artifacts everywhere I turn, but to the Romos, they are connections to their family.

-These were used by my grandmother, actually.

-Oh, really?

-To go back to Guadalajara.

-Great-grandmother.

-And great-grandmother, yeah.

-I am obsessed with old books.

-Pati, I have a little surprise for you.

These are actually the family cookbook.

-[ Gasps ] It's such a treasure!

-It is.

It is.

-They are written, handwritten, you can see.

-It's actually very hard to read.

-Almost impossible.

-[ Gasps ] I didn't bring my glasses.

The handwriting is so beautiful.

-Rice soup.

-I am dying right now.

[ Gasps ] As intriguing as this book is, the past only tells half the story here.

To be the last working hacienda, the Romos invested in the future with a very surprising crop.

We are in the middle of a blueberry farm in the heart of Jalisco.

Why and how did blueberries come here?

-We have invested a lot in technology, in innovation.

This is an automated retractable roof, and it opens and closes depending on the temperature of the leaf, on the humidity of the environment.

Everything is digital.

We see it on an iPad, and you can see when it opens and when it closes and why.

-All this automation is incredible, but people are still the heart of the operation.

The Romos want to create good work opportunities for the people of the area.

-Now gonna be finishing this season with 4,00 employees.

65% of those employees are women.

We really take very serious the people and really invest in them.

-And I'm not going anywhere until I get to sample the product.

I see a very ripe one right here.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm!

So sweet.

The past and the present come together when Jackie, Guillermo's wife, makes one of those old family recipes.

This space, it's just ridiculous!

With those cookbooks in this kitchen, so you're doing magic.

You're bringing those recipes alive.

-Alive -- recipes from the hacienda.

Recipes has been in the hacienda for years and years and generations.

Today we are gonna cook a filet with a special orange that you can only find it here.

-The juice from that special sour orange marinates a beef tenderloin that is seasoned with salt and cracked black pepper.

-And this is wood and coal.

-I may have to trade out my burners for this counter feature.

-This, it will take, like, at least two hours.

-In tequila, waiting is not so bad.

[ Gasps ] Gorgeous.

The beef is always served with rice, refried mayocoba beans, and tortillas.

Mmm.

Mmm!

Mmm.

...super moist, and the orange is so light.

-Give it a special flavor.

-Thank you, thank you.

What a treat to eat the food from your family cookbooks and be in your family kitchen.

-Salud.

-Salud!

-Salud.

-Cheers.

Cheers.

-It was an hour of cooking, but then I let them sit there for like 10 to 15 minutes, because you want the tamales and the tamal dough to settle.

If you take them immediately after the hour, the husk is just not gonna peel off.

Just like the muffin liner, when the muffin is ready, it peels right off.

And then you have your tamal.

Oh, you can see a little bit of the filling in there.

I'm gonna show you how it looks inside.

Oh, with all that filling.

♪♪ Mm-hmm.

It is... so tasty.

The dough has so much flavor because it's nicely seasoned, and then the filling is so incredibly delicious.

Mm.

This dish that I'm gonna show you how to make right now is something that you will not find in a restaurant, you will not find in a fonda.

You will only find it in a Mexican home or in your home.

And this is a chile relleno rice.

You can't stuff a fresh poblano chili.

It has to be fire-roasted first.

You get a chili that is transformed.

You make a slit on the chili like this.

You remove the seeds, and what a beautiful thing to fill.

This is your chile relleno that is still not relleno.

We're gonna stuff it right now with a lot of cheese.

You want these chile rellenos to be really rellenos.

You want them stuffed to the brim.

And then you're gonna use a toothpick to seal the chili.

Oh, my gosh.

This is gonna be so good.

So I'm adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of safflower oil.

I have my heat set over medium heat.

Use 2 cups of jasmine rice.

So, the rice is now coated in the bit of oil, and I'm waiting for my rice color to change to that deep white color.

We're looking for the smell of the rice cooking, which is a toasty smell, and the rice should sound heavier.

I'm gonna make a little room here in the middle.

I'm gonna add a little bit of more oil, and I'm gonna add 1/2 cup of white chopped onion.

And then as it starts softening, I'm gonna mix it with my rice.

I'm going to add 4 cups of chicken broth.

Teaspoon of salt and a little bit of freshly ground black pepper.

Wait for this to start simmering.

If you were just making your white rice, you would put the lid, reduce the heat to low, and let the rice cook.

Well, now you're gonna do the same thing but with the chile rellenos on top.

So I'm nesting the chilies here, and what is going to happen is something beautiful.

I'm gonna reduce the heat to low, and it's just like your normal rice, but when you open it, you're gonna have chile rellenos there, too.

Now I'm gonna make a tomato sauce to sauce them.

I have here water that is already boiling, so I'm just adding tomatoes whole in the water, 2 pounds.

I'm gonna add two garlic cloves.

I'm gonna cut a piece of an onion and I'm gonna add my tomatoes, 'cause they're ready.

I am not being able to resist adding one of these chilies de arbol, because I am loving these so much, these chilies de arbol from Yahualica, from Jalisco.

As I'm shaking it, I'm smelling it.

So fragrant!

I'm adding just one chile de arbol.

One generous teaspoon of salt.

And a little pepper.

Puree it until completely smooth.

I'm gonna season it, which means I'm going to cook it with a little bit of oil.

You want the oil to be really hot.

Seasoning it here only means that you're waiting for the color to change from this brighter red to a very cooked red, which takes 1 to 2 minutes.

Does it look as beautiful on-screen as it looks to me?

Because this to me is -- ah!

-- a thing of beauty!

Please remember to take off your toothpick.

Now we're gonna top this with our salsa roja.

Oh, and these are the colors of the Mexican flag, too -- red, white, and green.

Now we're garnishing with a very salty and aged Cotija.

I'm gonna lace it with a little bit of crema.

♪♪ ♪♪ This is so comforting, so delicious, so nurturing.

This is really Mexican home-style food from the heart, and these are dishes that I think should become part of your repertoire.

♪♪ For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit PatiJinich.com.

And connect!

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

-"Pati's Mexican Table" is made possible by... ♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ Avocados from Mexico A tradition of authentic Latin flavors and family recipes.

Tropical Cheese.

-Stand Together -- helping every person rise.

More information at StandTogether.org.

-Here, the typical arroz con pollo...or not.

Unfollow la receta.

Mahatma rice.

-King Arthur Baking Company.

Find out more about our masa harina at kingarthurbaking.com.

-Oléico -- High Oleic Safflower Oil.

-Tecate Alta Cerveza Suprema.

Mexico is in us.

-FEMSA Foundation.

♪♪ -Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on public television.

♪♪ ♪♪